A Message from your Hialeah, FL Dentist about Food and Good Teeth
Eat These Foods for Good Teeth and Avoid These Foods That Can Wreck Your Dental Health
The foods you eat and the beverages you consume have a big impact on your oral health. By now you know that sugary food and drinks are bad for your teeth. Other types can be too. On the positive side, many foods help oral health. So, let’s note the sips and foods that are good for your teeth and those that are bad for them.
Interestingly, archeologists and researchers who have studied the digs at the ancient city of Pompeii discovered that its residents had good teeth. The people of this ancient Italian city ate lots of fruits and vegetables and their water source contained flouride.
Fluoride and Your Water
Fluoride in your drinking water strengthens your tooth enamel by allowing it to readily absorb the calcium and phosphates in your saliva. Like your spit, tooth enamel is made from these two substances, which create the stronger-than-bone outer layer of your teeth.
Saliva is 99 percent water, and drinking water keeps it primed to wash away food particles. You should also drink water to reduce the acids detrimental to your teeth. Typically, the tap water you drink is fluoridated.
To ensure that the water where you live contains fluoride, contact your local water authority. Alternately, if you live the US you can go to the “My Water’s Fluoride” page at the Centers for Disease Control website.
If you drink bottled water, make sure that it contains fluoride. Besides water, you can get this compound in mouthwashes and toothpastes, and your Hialeah, FL dentists can apply it to your teeth. It also may be found in dehydrated soups and powdered juices. Just check that the latter do not contain a lot of sugar.
Whole Grains and your visits to your Hialeah, Dentist
Consuming whole grains, which are complex carbohydrates, decreases the chance of periodontal disease and inflammation of the gums. The reason is that they facilitate the body’s ability to process blood sugar.
Whole grains also contain magnesium to keep teeth strong. Examples of these foods are whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole-grain pasta and oatmeal.
Vegetables and your visits to your General Dentist in Hialeah, FL
Eating fresh vegetables does a great job of protecting teeth. Think of celery as natural dental floss. Munching on it and other crunchy vegetables like carrots removes plaque.
Spinach, kale, turnips and other dark green and leafy vegetables contain vitamin A, which rebuilds tooth enamel. They are also high in fiber, so when chewed, they act like toothbrushes.
You can include frozen or canned vegetables in your diet. If you choose canned goods, select those without added sugar, cream sauces or other ingredients that may add calories.
Fruits regarding Teeth health and dental cleanings in Hialeah, FL
If you prefer a sweet cavity buster, try apples. Their sweetness neutralizes your mouth’s acidity, which can erode tooth enamel. The vitamins in applies include A, B1, B2, B6 and C, all of which boost your overall health.
Vitamin C is good for gum wellness. Find it in strawberries, pineapples and cucumbers. Raw pears, unlike oranges and grapefruit (which are acidic), can neutralize the mouth acids that cause tooth decay.
Dairy Products and Meat and Fish
Cheese stimulates saliva production. Like milk and yogurt, it also contains calcium, which puts minerals back in the teeth which may have been drawn out by other foods. Note that whole-fat cheese is often a high-fat, high-calorie food. Large amounts of sodium may be in it too. The phosphorous in milk and other dairy products rebuilds tooth enamel, as does the phosphorous in poultry, meat –aim for lean cuts–and fish.
Nuts and your visits to our Family Dentist in Hialeah, Florida
Peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts and most nuts and seeds are low in sugar. So, the bacteria in your mouth cannot feed on them to harm your teeth. Snacking on nuts also cleans teeth and makes them stronger.
Teas
Black tea and green tea fight plaque bacteria. The consumption of white tea combats it too. Though all three of these teas contain fluoride, white tea has the highest amount. The caveat is to drink tea without sugar or honey, or to use a sugar substitute. Otherwise, you are bathing your teeth in sugar.
How to Eat Foods for Good Teeth in Hialeah, Florida
Balance a meal that contains fruit, grains or sweet and starchy foods (pasta, rice, crackers, cereal and bread, for example) with calcium-fortified tofu, cheese, vegetables, nuts or seeds.
Eating raw foods at the end of your meal cleans the teeth, massages the gums and produces more saliva to get rid of food particles. Following dessert or after eating sweets, eat raw celery or carrots.
Junk Food is Bad for Teeth and require more visits to your Hialeah, FL Dentist
For better dental health in Hialeah, FL, avoid snacking between meals, especially on foods with no nutritional value. They introduce more acids to your mouth. In this category of bad foods are sweets that do not occur naturally in nature, and other man-made snacks.
Shy away from candy (especially sticky ones like taffy, caramels and granola bars), cakes, cookies, potato chips and similar foods. The type of sugar in them is a breeding ground for the kind of bacteria in your mouth that leads to cavities.
Hot or cold drinks with added sugar or honey are bad for your teeth because they bathe them in this bad sweetness.You should also shy away from fruit juices and vegetable juices because most have a high sugar content. The acids in fruit juices also erode tooth enamel.
Many foods can help you to reduce the number of cavities you get and tamp down gum inflammation. In part, a program of foods for dental health depends on which foods you eat, which you avoid and how you integrate them into your schedule.
We hope you enjoyed this article and want to remind you to visit your Hialeah Dentist at Oramas Dental Center. You can schedule an appointment here.
